


golden girls

by gaysanada



Category: All Elite Wrestling
Genre: M/M, chuck is SUPPOSEDLY het and cant read the damn room, trent is gay and hopeless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25415002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaysanada/pseuds/gaysanada
Summary: 'An easy night.' That’s what Trent kept repeating in his head. This was supposed to be an easy night. So why did Trent feel so worked up?alternate description: its hard to build relationships on the road and chuck accidentally-on-purpose hurts trent's sweet little gay boy feelings.
Relationships: Trent Barreta/Chuck Taylor
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	golden girls

Maybe it was the way that they had met. Maybe it was the way Chuck always looked at him and made him feel like he was special. Maybe it was how Trent felt like he could say and do anything when he was with Chuck, completely without fear of being judged. He didn’t have to pretend to be a certain way. He could just be himself. Maybe _that’s_ why Trent was in love with Chuck.

But he knew he shouldn’t be. He knew that every smile he melted over, every quick moment of eye contact, every laugh and hug and handhold they shared. He knew that it wasn’t meant like that. He knew Chuck was straight.

And yet, he couldn’t stop himself from falling. Because every time they laced their hands together in the ring, he felt his heart _explode_. Every time Chuck slung his arm around Trent’s shoulders and pulled him in close, he thought he might _die_. Even just their fingers brushing together sent him into a lovestruck _panic_.

They were in their hotel room, drinking and laughing, as usual. They would both occasionally pick up their phones and tap and swipe around for a minute, and they’d look at each other and make weird faces. It was a nice, easy night for both of them.

 _An easy night_. That’s what Trent kept repeating in his head. This was supposed to be _an easy night_. So why did Trent feel so worked up? Maybe because they were both lying on one bed right now, even though there was a second one just a foot or two away. Maybe because, earlier that night, Chuck had said something in passing about how much he loved Trent. Maybe because after they’d won their match, Chuck hugged just a little bit differently than he had before. Or maybe it was all just in his head.

He glanced over at Chuck and saw him swiping through girls on Tinder. His heart dropped a little, as the big flashing sign that read ‘ _Chuck is straight_ ’ popped into his mind again. It didn’t matter what he thought Chuck meant, and it never would. They were best friends, and not a single thing more.

“What do you think of her?” Chuck suddenly asked, pulling Trent from his thoughts. There was a girl on Chuck’s phone screen, hair in a bun, a Snapchat filter giving her cute round glasses and star-shaped freckles. 

“She’s cute. Look at her other pictures too though,” Trent mumbled, eyes turning back to whatever show was on their hotel tv. It was Golden Girls.

He tried to ignore Chuck tapping through this girls other pictures, ultimately swiping right. The screen popped up to show that it was a match, and Trent’s heart sank a little bit more. _Maybe he should’ve said he didn’t like her._

“So you gonna message her or are you gonna ignore her like the others?” Trent asked, not even bothering to really even look at Chuck, eyes attached to the tv screen.

Chuck shrugged, continuing to swipe right on 5 girls in a row, all varying in appearance pretty drastically.

“Okay, dude, do you even _have_ a _type_? Or do you just swipe right on _everyone_?” Trent asked, chuckling to hide the harsh tone in his voice.

Chuck shrugged again, a smile playing on his lips, “I dunno, I’m just _lonely_ , dude. I want someone to cuddle with when I’m not wrestling.”

Trent went on to tease him about how he could always cuddle with Orange Cassidy, earning a shove that nearly took him off the bed. Trent shoved Chuck in response, and that started a whole contest, which ended in both of them falling off the mattress and onto the floor.

Trent climbed back on the bed, watching as Chuck climbed up on the other one. He pretended not to care.

“Seriously though, you swipe right on everyone on there. Are you _that_ desperate?”

Chuck pretended to look offended, before smiling and shrugging again, “I’m not desperate.”

“You just said that you just want someone to cuddle with. I asked if you have a type and you basically said no! You’d probably even take a _boyfriend_ at this point,” Trent teased him, but deep down he was dreaming of Chuck saying he would take a boyfriend.

Chuck laughed, shaking his head, “Oh yeah, as if people don’t already think I’m dating you or Orange. I’ll get a _real_ boyfriend and really shake shit up, huh.”

Trent didn’t mind the weird rumors that he and Chuck were dating, although sometimes they made him feel a bit worse about their friendship.

“Yeah, you really would be desperate if you started dating a dude.”

“I mean, I have thought about what kinda guy I’d want to date if I were into guys,” Chuck said nonchalantly, completely throwing Trent off.

Trent paused, maybe a little too long, “And what kind of guy would you date?”

Chuck shrugged, a rosy pink color dusted across his cheeks, “I dunno, probably a guy like Orange or something. Or _you_ , but not like…” Chuck paused, trying to think of the right words to say, “But _not_ like, _actually_ _you_? Does that make sense?”

Chuck kept talking, but Trent didn’t hear any of it. He nodded and smiled and laughed along, but he had completely blocked out all the words either of them were saying. 

Chuck had rejected him, without really even meaning to, and it broke him. It felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. Or maybe he’d been stabbed? He couldn’t figure out what the feeling was.

He knew Chuck was straight, and he coped with that. He knew Chuck wouldn’t ever really be into him, even if he did like guys, and he coped with that. _So why did it hurt so badly to hear Chuck actually say that?_

Eventually, they both decided to go to bed, but Trent ended up spending the entire night staring at the ceiling, listening to Chuck snore.

Around 7 am, Trent couldn’t handle it anymore and got up to shower. The water was too hot, but it felt good. The slight burn helped him refocus. It brought him back to reality, even if just for a moment. He reminded him that no matter how much he loved Chuck, Chuck would never feel the same. That’s just how it would be. 

He didn’t realize how long he’d been standing there, but by the time he got out of the shower, it was a little past 8. Chuck was beginning to stir, and he didn’t seem too happy about it. He groaned and made little grumpy noises from his bed, muttering something about being hungover. 

After rubbing his eyes and continuing to complain, he finally perked up and seemed to immediately notice how awake and ‘okay’ Trent was.

“Why aren’t _you_ hungover?” he mumbled, his tone somewhat accusatory.

Trent shrugged, pretending like he hadn’t been up the whole night wishing he was straight. Or, at the very least, wishing he wasn’t so terribly in love with his straight best friend.

Chuck accepted the shrug, sitting up and stretching before heading into the bathroom to take his own shower. 

Trent fell back on the bed the moment the bathroom door shut, finally letting just a tear or two escape his eyes. As he replayed the night in his head, over and over, wishing he could erase it from his memory.

He didn’t want to think about the way Chuck’s body felt, just sitting on the bed next to him. Or how his laugh sounded like that of an angel as he teased him for being a little desperate. Or the look on his face when he talked about how he’d be into a guy _like_ Trent, but not _actually_ Trent…

And he _certainly_ didn’t want to think about how Chuck didn’t even notice the immediate pain that statement had caused. Or how, if he _had_ noticed, he ignored it. How he just continued laughing and talking about these random girls from Tinder, or whatever other dating apps he had. How he didn’t really seem to like any of them, but he didn’t know what else to do.

Trent thought about distancing himself from Chuck. Finding some other friends to spend some time with for a while, or maybe even finding a guy to date to get his mind off of this hopeless crush. But whenever he went out on a date, he just found himself comparing them to Chuck, and thinking about how they’d _never_ be as good as him.

He heard the shower turn off, and wiped away any remaining evidence that he’d let himself cry for a moment. He didn’t want Chuck to know he was upset, even if he’d just lie about the reason. Whenever Chuck noticed Trent was upset, he’d get all cuddly with him, and that was the very last thing Trent needed right now.

They went about their morning, as usual, finding a random spot to grab some breakfast before heading on the road to the next town. They chatted and joked in the car, laughing about random things they passed and talked about if either of them had ever been to certain places before. It almost made Trent forget how upset he had been. Almost.

“So,” Chuck suddenly started, a smile spread across his face as he watched Trent drive, “you were making fun of me last night for being on Tinder.”

Trent shook his head, chuckling, “I wasn’t making fun of you for being on Tinder, I was making fun of you for being desperate. Those are two different things!”

Chuck waved him off, his smile only growing, “Whatever. My point is, are you on Tinder or anything? We gotta get you a boyfriend, man! Aren’t you lonely and desperate too?”

Trent suddenly found himself a bit uncomfortable, and he shifted his hands on the steering wheel, pulling off somewhere so he could pretend to need to go to the bathroom or get gas or something, “I mean, yeah, but I don’t really...want a boyfriend, I guess.”

Chuck shook his head, “That’s bull! C’mon man, put yourself out there! Make a Tinder, go on some dating sites, meet some guys!”

Trent just looked forward, pulling into a gas station and getting out of the car, not bothering to respond to Chuck. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Luckily, Chuck seemed to get the hint, and they continued the drive without another mention of it.

It wasn’t until right before their match that the issue came up again. Chuck seemed to realize right then that Trent had never really responded, and felt the need to restart their conversation 5 minutes before they were supposed to head out to the ring.

“So, I was looking at some of the dudes on Tinder, and I think I found some guys you’d look good with,” Chuck said, fiddling with his vest as he walked up to Trent.

Trent seemed a bit taken aback, “Why were you looking at the- Stop trying to find me a boyfriend. I’m happy by myself, Chuck.”

Chuck rolled his eyes at him, giving him a look and shaking his head, “You’re tellin’ me you’re happy with the fact that after this is over, you’re headin’ back to an empty apartment with just a dog to keep you company?”

If he was honest, Trent wasn’t happy with that. He wanted to be going home to a handsome man to greet him and hug him and ask him how the tour was. More specifically, though, he wanted to be going home with Chuck.

“A dog is plenty of company!” Trent tried to satisfy Chuck’s need for a response while also avoiding the question, opting simply to defend the fact that his apartment was, in fact, otherwise empty.

Trent thought Chuck was finally going to let it go, as they both grew quiet, only a minute or two left now.

“Don’t you have, like, a crush on anyone? I mean, you see hot dudes all the time, right? You gotta be into somebody, at the very least.”

Trent rolled his eyes, starting to grow a little annoyed. It was almost as if Chuck wanted Trent to admit he was in love with him.

“I mean, yeah, I guess there are a few people I know that I’d be open to dating. But I don’t want to. I’m happy like this,” Trent wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling the truth either.

“But do you have a crush on-”

Trent finally turned to Chuck, giving him the sternest look he could, and told him to stop. Chuck seemed surprised, but nodded, and they went ahead for their match.

After the match, they went to their hotel, both of them crashing on their respective beds. Chuck had been really quiet since Trent snapped at him, which made Trent feel guilty. He didn’t mean to snap at Chuck, but he was just so fed up with Chuck’s constant pestering about getting a boyfriend. Didn’t he know how miserable it made him?

There was a stiff silence in the room, and it was clear that Chuck wanted to say something.

“Just fucking say it, Chuck,” Trent mumbled into his pillow not bothering to move to even look towards Chuck.

“Why’d you get mad at me earlier? I was just tryna have a conversation with you about getting you a boyfriend, and you got all mean about it. I just want you to be happy. You’re my best friend, dude.”

Trent sighed. He knew Chuck meant well.

“I’m sorry, alright? I just,” Trent paused. He could be honest. He could tell Chuck that he does have a crush on someone, but then Chuck would ask who. Or he could lie, and say he doesn’t have a crush on anyone, but then Chuck would try to set him up with someone. Trent finally turned to look toward Chuck, only to see Chuck was already watching him, “I just don’t know. Life is so busy with traveling all the time and wrestling, it’s hard to build a real relationship with someone new, ya know?”

Chuck nodded, “Yeah, I get that.”

They both sat in silence for a bit, but it was no longer tense. At least, not in the way that it had been. Trent still felt guilty, and he still felt like his insides were being torn apart by the fact that Chuck was so oblivious to the love he clearly had for him. But it was fine. Trent would deal with it like he always did. He’d take a hot shower in the morning, and pretend like everything was okay. 

He’d pretend like Chuck’s casual touches and little glances and bright smiles didn’t mean anything to him. He’d put in his happiest face and crack jokes, just like he usually did. He’d pretend the pain of spending so many years in love with his best friend wasn’t starting to break him down, hurting him more and more every day.

Maybe it was the way that they had met. Maybe it was the way Trent always looked at him like he was a priceless work of art. Maybe it was how Chuck felt like he could say and do anything when he was with Trent, completely without fear of being judged. He didn’t have to pretend to be a certain way. He could just be himself. Maybe _that’s_ why Chuck pretended not to know that Trent was in love with him.


End file.
